


Keep Hold of Our Hearts

by midnightswordsdance



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Football | Soccer, Kim Mingyu-centric, Multi, Pining, Polyamory Negotiations, Single Parents AU, The children don’t really appear much tho, seokhao fight over Mingyu and Mingyu is here for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27706250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightswordsdance/pseuds/midnightswordsdance
Summary: “How much do you want? Fifty bucks? A hundred? Two hundred?” Mr. Xu asked, getting out his wallet.“I don’t think trying to bribe me is going to work so well either.”Mr. Lee frowned. “I don’t have a hundred bucks, but I make good cookies.”“Non-monetary bribes are also not permitted, Mr. Lee.”“I would make pretty good eye candy on the sidelines, Mr. Kim. Maybe that’s what you’re looking for.” Wait, what?
Relationships: Kim Mingyu/Lee Seokmin | DK, Kim Mingyu/Lee Seokmin | DK/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Lee Seokmin | DK/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 10
Kudos: 101
Collections: Match Point: The SEVENTEEN Sports Fic Fest





	Keep Hold of Our Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SVTSportsFest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SVTSportsFest) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Mingyu as a youth soccer coach, and Minghao and Seokmin as single parents who spend equal amounts of time fighting over whose kid is more talented, arguing about snack choices, and flirting with the coach.
> 
> ~
> 
> Hi everyone! This is for the SVTSportsFest, and was technically my first ever fic. Thank you so much to the mods for organizing this fest, and for dealing with the fact I didn't sign up correctly and had a subsequent freakout two months into the fest. Sorry!
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

Corner flags? Check. Cones? Check. No extra balls lying around? Check. No stranded children? Check.

“Coach Kim!”

Mingyu looked up to his utter ~~delight~~ dismay to find two _very_ familiar people standing by the goalpost. “Mr. Xu and Mr. Lee,” he said. “How wonderful to see you.”

“How wonderful indeed,” said Mr. Xu, and oh boy, he did not look happy. Mr. Lee, by contrast, looked quite normal, if a bit impatient to get on with the pleasantries. It was honestly baffling to see two people so different in demeanor to be so similar in personality. 

“Can I help you two?” Mingyu asked, putting the cones into his backpack. 

“Well,” said Mr. Lee, “we heard that you were looking for an assistant coach for the team, and we’d like to apply.”

“Oh,” Mingyu exclaimed. “And you both have read the requirements of the job, right? Helping schedule games, organizing the calendar, bringing the benches and keeping time on the sidelines, stuff like that?”

“Yes, yes, we’re well aware,” said Mr. Xu. “It’s just that both of us are incredibly interested in having the job. And I was hoping that I might be able to persuade you to give me the position over him.”

And this was exactly what Mingyu feared when he had put up the announcement. 

“Not before I will,” said Mr. Lee. “You see, Mr. Kim, unlike Mr. Xu over here, I enjoy working with children. I like it so much that I’m a schoolteacher. Therefore, I should get the position.”

“But Mr. Lee,” Mr. Xu interrupted, “doesn’t the fact that you work with children so often mean that I should get the position? After all, no one could work with children for so long and not need a break.”

“And that’s why you don’t get it,” said Mr. Lee. “If you really enjoyed being with children other than Taesun, you could play with kids all day and never need a break.”

“You just think that because you’re a kid at heart.”

“And is that a bad thing?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Mingyu held up his hands. “Stop bickering for just one second. I’ll make a decision in two weeks, so you have until then to stop bothering me and let me do my job.”

“How much do you want? Fifty bucks? A hundred? Two hundred?” Mr. Xu asked, getting out his wallet. 

“I don’t think trying to bribe me is going to work so well either.”

Mr. Lee frowned. “I don’t have a hundred bucks, but I make good cookies.”

“Non-monetary bribes are also not permitted, Mr. Lee.”

“I would make pretty good eye candy on the sidelines, Mr. Kim. Maybe that’s what you’re looking for.” Wait, what?

“Hey, I’m twice as pretty as Xu! Double the eye candy.”

He could tell they were going to start fighting for real, so he held up his hands again. “Stop. No one is giving me money, or cookies, o-or eye candy. See you in two weeks. Good day.” 

And with that, he turned around and walked back to his car. Parents could be so much worse than their children. No, scratch that. Parents were _always_ so much worse than their children.

~

Mingyu spoke with Mr. Xu and Mr. Lee on a Tuesday, so he would still have to see them at Thursday’s practice, Saturday’s game, again the following Tuesday and Thursday, and the tournament in Busan. Yikes. 

“They just want their kids to succeed,” said Wonwoo from where he was lounging on Mingyu’s couch. “I don’t blame them.”

“That’s not very helpful coming from the guy who shredded the valedictorian’s physics notes so he could pull up to the number one spot in high school,” Mingyu replied, taking a sip of his bubble tea. 

“I’m not saying their approach is the best,” said Wonwoo, “but they’re both single parents with kids in a highly competitive football club. Their kids already have the short end of the stick, so they’re trying their best.”

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean they have to bully me with meetings and bombard me with emails. And why _eye candy?_ Who do they think I am?” 

"A painfully thirsty, single man who likes looking at pretty boys," Wonwoo replied, a smile slowly spreading on his face. "And that's exactly what you are."

"A pervert?!"

“Just hear them out,” said Wonwoo, waving his hand dismissively at Mingyu’s apparent distress. “Appreciate all of the attention. It _has_ been seven months since you last got laid.”

Mingyu choked on his drink. Wonwoo did not look sympathetic. “I'm not trying to hit on them, nor will I ever try to hit on them!”

Wonwoo shrugged, but it didn’t look innocent. “I’m just saying that from the way you’re always talking about them talking to you.”

“Shut up.” Mingyu knew he was pouting, but Wonwoo was wrong. So wrong. “Why are you even counting?”

“Because we’re roommates,” said Wonwoo. “And it’s been seven months since you’ve sexiled me. That sounds like a dry spell if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Maybe I've just been going to other people’s places. I have a girlfriend, you know.”

Wonwoo burst into laughter at his atrocious lie. “No, you don’t, you idiot. You haven’t had one of those since college.” He continued to laugh as he took in Mingyu’s murderous glare, and his pouting, which was kind of ruining the murderous-look vibe. “Get it together, Mingyu, and maybe snag a pretty daddy while you’re at it. Maybe even two.”

If Mingyu hadn’t been so lazy, Wonwoo would’ve had bubble tea dumped on his head. 

~

 _They’re not flirting with me,_ Mingyu thought as he ran Thursday’s practice. Both Mr. Xu and Mr. Lee were there, even though there were thirty more minutes of practice. _They’re just protective of their kids. It was one comment._

Since Tuesday, Mingyu had tried not to give the assistant coach decision any more thought. However, Wonwoo’s words were stuck in his head, and nothing he could do would make it stop. After all, it _had_ been seven months since he’d gotten laid. Way too long. 

But instead of thinking about how nice Mr. Xu’s fingers would look splayed over Mr. Lee’s thick thighs, two sets of lips on his neck, he tried to focus on the kids. 

Taesun, Mr. Xu’s son, was a true superstar: fast on his feet, an excellent dribbler, focused defender, and the team’s top goal-scorer. Junseo, Mr. Lee’s son, was very good as well: a talented goalkeeper, a risk-taker, and a team leader. Although Mr. Xu had protested for weeks, Junseo was the better pick for team captain, even if his skills weren’t as versatile as Taesun’s. 

Thinking back to when he first took the job at the football club, upset from his retirement after playing for Everton in England due to a career-ending injury, he had figured that coaching kids would just be easy money, but the kids he coached impressed him every day, and it was a lot more difficult to keep up with them than he had expected.

A lot more difficult, of course, because of the terribly distracting parents as well.

Pulling over Taesun for a quick critique on his run, he noticed Mr. Lee standing on the sideline, but he tried to ignore him. “You see Changwoo defending that passing window? If you stand next to him, you won’t get the ball. You have to get wider, almost to the sideline. It’ll open up space for Seojun in the center to dribble, but also creates an opening for him to pass,” he said to Taesun, pointing at Seojun, their center midfielder. 

As soon as he saw Mingyu, Mr. Lee raised his eyebrows a little, giving him one of his sunshine smiles. Mingyu spluttered through his conclusion and sent Taesun back onto the field, cheeks turning red. Oh, good Lord.

He hadn’t even started packing everything back into his bag when—

“Coach Kim.” It was Mr. Lee right behind him. 

Mingyu gave a little yelp, but disguised it as a cough into his elbow. “Ah, Mr. Lee, how can I help you?”

“Have you given the decision for the assistant coach any thought?”

“No,” said Mingyu. “I thought I told you to stop asking me about it.” He couldn’t be flirting with him. He was just asking about the coach position. Wonwoo was out of his mind. 

“Really?” Mr. Lee tilted his head to the side like a puppy, pouting a little. “I thought you liked seeing me around.”

Well, then. 

“I—I do, Mr. Lee,” said Mingyu, caught off-guard. “I just don’t want to talk about the decision right now. It’s not that I don’t like you.”

“It’s Seokmin,” said Mr. Lee. “Just call me Seokmin.”

“W-well, Seokmin,” Mingyu stammered, “it hasn’t been two weeks yet.”

“I've been thinking about what we discussed with Mr. Xu the other day," said Seokmin, as if Mingyu hadn't spoken, "but I just need some confirmation. I'm prettier than him, right?"

Mingyu could tell his voice was a little higher than usual when he asked, "Is this a trick question?"

"Of course not," said Seokmin. "I just think it might be more beneficial for you to have someone both pretty and nice to kids on the sidelines with you. Unlike Mr. Xu, who barely even checks one of those categories."

Heat flared across Mingyu's cheeks, and he hoped that it was already too dark for Seokmin to notice his blush. "I think that you are quite pretty, Seokmin-ssi, but your looks will not carry any weight in my decision for assistant coach."

"Glad to know you think I'm pretty, Mingyu-ssi," said Seokmin, even though Mingyu had never given him permission to call him by his first name. It was a little terrifying how nice his name sounded on Seokmin's tongue, like he had been appraised amongst a large group of people and hand-picked to receive Seokmin's attention. "I'll see you around." He started to walk away, beckoning to Junseo to follow him. "And I _will_ get the position. Just you wait."

It was a little problematic that Mingyu found Seokmin's confidence so hot.

~

Practices were manageable because parents usually weren't there or were only observing, but games were a completely different story. 

None of the finesse or charisma Mingyu had seen from Seokmin a few days before could be seen in his behavior as kickoff began. Parents generally liked to yell at their kids, but Seokmin was different solely due to his volume. There was no one in a mile radius that couldn't hear his stream of encouragement. And it was _constant,_ as if he could continue yelling for hours and never need water. 

Mr. Xu, on the other hand, was the coaching type. Mingyu had had a talk with the parents about yelling on the sidelines at the beginning of the season, saying that it was unhelpful to the kids to have multiple people trying to tell them what to do in a stressful situation (the “no verbs, please” talk, as he called it), but Mr. Xu didn't care. It didn't matter how many times Mingyu had asked him to stop with the coaching. Xu Minghao was never going to change.

Seokmin and Mr. Xu also fought much more during games than during practices. The bickering from the Tuesday practice was tenfold during games, and it was _loud_ and in _public._ It was their fault that there was a line spray-painted on the parents' side of the field signaling that they couldn't stand next to each other, and Mingyu had had to ban snacks because there was constant debate over who would bring them, what it would be, how healthy it was, and on and on and on until Taesun or Junseo or another third party finally dragged them away from each other.

According to the other parents, Seokmin and Mr. Xu were actually best friends outside of football, but from what Mingyu could see, that couldn't possibly be true, because they argued all game, every game.

The team they were playing was good, just below them in the league standings, but they were no match for Taesun's impressive offense or Junseo's goalkeeping. By halftime, Taesun had scored two goals and in the second half, he scored two more. Junseo kept a clean sheet, making a particularly awesome save by knocking the ball over the net with the tips of his fingers, to loud, obnoxious cheers from Seokmin. At the end of the game, Mingyu found it was nearly impossible to find any complaints about the team's performance.

After everything was cleaned up and all of the kids had packed up their shin guards and put away their balls, Mingyu was ready to go home, eat ice cream, and hopefully not get kicked out when Wonwoo and Soonyoung would inevitably come back from their date, horny and tipsy and terribly not-single. But, Mr. Xu and Taesun were waiting by the exit to the football complex, and they definitely seemed to be waiting for him.

"You need a ride?" Mr. Xu asked when Mingyu approached them.

Mingyu narrowed his eyes. "Is this part of your plan to try to convince me to pick you as the new assistant coach?"

"Of course not," said Mr. Xu, but the pink tinging the tips of his ears showed the lie. _Cute,_ Mingyu thought.

Mr. Xu turned to Taesun. "I want to talk to Coach Kim for a little, okay? Wait for me in the car." Taesun nodded and left. 

“Taesun played really well today,” Mingyu remarked, trying to steer away from anything related to the coaching job.

Unfortunately, Mr. Xu saw right through him, narrowing his eyes. “Thank you. ” he replied curtly. 

Mingyu didn’t really have much to say after that, so Mr. Xu continued onto what he clearly wanted to talk about. "I heard some very interesting news, by the way,” he said nonchalantly.

Mingyu raised an eyebrow. "What kind of news?"

"Two things, actually. First, Mr. Lee is apparently letting you call him Seokmin."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Paired with the fact that you apparently told him that you thought he was pretty, that sounds a little suspicious," said Mr. Xu.

"So what if he's trying to flatter me? Flattering isn't bribing."

"It sounds like you're letting him seduce you into giving him the position," said Mr. Xu, "and I think that violates your rule of no bribing."

"It doesn't count as bribing if I'm not accepting anything."

Mr. Xu didn't look convinced. "You're clearly accepting something if you called him pretty, and if you're defending him."

"I'm not defending him!" He definitely wasn't. Absolutely. No way. "Maybe if you feel so threatened by him, you should step up your game."

From the way Mr. Xu's eyes glittered with the prospect of a challenge, that was the wrong thing to say. 

"Oh, I will be stepping up my game," said Mr. Xu. "Believe me, I will. In fact, you should call me Minghao. Since we're going to be on such _friendly_ terms for the next two weeks."

As Mingyu got into his car after that and hit his head on the steering wheel multiple times, he contemplated what god he'd pissed off to get into this position. 

~

"Hey, gorgeous," said Seokmin as he put down his equipment bag. Mingyu's eyebrows shot up as he checked to make sure there weren't any children around. Thankfully, there weren't.

"Catcalling me is not going to help your chances, Seokmin," he replied, trying to fight down the blush.

"It's not catcalling if we know each other," said Seokmin. "It's just friendly banter."

"What's friendly banter?" It was Minghao. "Oh, hello there, Mingyu-ssi. Is that a new shirt?"

Mingyu barked a laugh. "It's literally the same uniform I have to wear for every practice, Minghao," he said, still laughing a little. "I gotta tell you, if you're actually trying to flirt me into giving you the job, which is ridiculous in itself, you have to try a little harder."

"I'm just getting started," said Minghao, smirking.

Seokmin grinned back. "Bring it on."

And as Seokmin and Minghao walked away, both walking with a bit of a swagger, Mingyu thought, _this is pretty good._

~

Seokmin and Minghao had only gotten more flirtatious as time went on. It had come to a point that they would both flirt with him at the same time, and in ways that definitely weren't child-appropriate.

"You're so muscular, Mingyu-yah," said Seokmin, reaching over and squeezing his bicep. "I bet you work out all the time."

"Not really," he replied, trying not to let out some embarrassing sound at how good it felt to have Seokmin's hand massaging his arm. "Working with the kids is a workout all by itself."

"Did you get a haircut?" Minghao asked, reaching out to run his fingers through Mingyu's hair. Mingyu nodded, going even redder. "It looks good with it shorter like that." 

"You know," said Seokmin, finally pulling away, "we have a proposal for you."

Mingyu sighed. "If this is about the coaching job, I have to say no."

"It's not, we promise," said Minghao. "We wanted to know if you were free for dinner tonight."

"Taesun and Junseo are going to be at a sleepover, so you wouldn't have to worry about them," Seokmin added.

This sounded very date-like. Or at least hookup-like. Wait, how had he ended up being asked on a date with _two_ different people? There were too many questions for Mingyu to ask.

It took a second for Mingyu to realize how long he had stayed quiet. "You can say no, you know," said Minghao. "We're not going to kidnap you or anything."

"No!" There was a long, uncomfortable pause before Mingyu realized what he'd said. "I meant, like, _no,_ I don't want to say no. I meant yes."

"Great!" Seokmin smiled, one of his sunshine smiles with at least 60 teeth. "See you both at my place at 7?"

Both Mingyu and Minghao nodded, even though Mingyu wasn't totally sure what exactly he was agreeing to. Did they actually mean dinner when they said dinner? Or was it something else?

~

"It's obviously something else," said Wonwoo when Mingyu came home and immediately buried his face in the couch, muttering to himself. "What else could it be?"

"I don't know," Mingyu moaned pathetically. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"To me," said Soonyoung from the dining room table, "it seems like a date. No parent would invite their kid's coach to dinner without something else going on."

"Mingyu, listen to me." Wonwoo reached over and shook his shoulder roughly. "Here's what you're going to do. You're going to take a shower and dress up so well that any man would drop to their knees for you. You're going to go to Seokmin's house and have dinner. You're going to act completely civil and not expect anything. If it turns out they're trying to bang you, you go along with it if that's what you want, and you leave if it isn't. If it turns out it was actually just dinner, then you go home and come cry to me and Soonie about how you obviously have a thing for these guys. Got it?"

"But I'm going to humiliate myself," Mingyu whined.

"If they've been feeling you up every single time they see you and complimenting you despite your obvious shortcomings, they probably aren't going to care if you say something stupid," said Wonwoo. "That's what I did with Soonyoung."

"Dipshit," Soonyoung called from the table with his mouth full of chocolate. "I'm perfect. No shortcomings here."

"Just get in the shower, Mingyu," said Wonwoo, "you're going to be late."

Mingyu groaned one last time, stood up, grabbed a handful of m&m's from Soonyoung's bowl, and dragged himself into the shower. Despite how much of a nuisance Minghao and Seokmin could be, he wished that it would be more than just dinner.

~

Seokmin's apartment was a lot smaller than Mingyu would have expected; in fact, it was probably smaller than Mingyu and Wonwoo's place. Minghao was already there when he walked inside, standing beside Seokmin at the kitchen counter and helping with the cooking. Mingyu cleared his throat to announce his presence, and the two of them turned around to face him. "Hi, Mingyu!" said Seokmin. "Sit down, we're almost ready."

From where Mingyu sat, it was so much easier to see not only how handsome Minghao and Seokmin were but also how handsome they were with each other. Even though the whole competition had been about Seokmin and Minghao trying to persuade Mingyu, Mingyu could see how much chemistry the two of them had together as well. As Seokmin began mixing things together in a pot, he would stick his hand out and Minghao would deposit the ingredient he needed into his hand with no delay as if they were telepathic. They were also standing much closer than they needed to, Seokmin's left arm slung across Minghao's back, shoulders touching like they were a couple. Maybe they already were one. Mingyu hadn't had the foresight to ask.

"It's only been like an hour," Seokmin was saying, "but I miss Junseo already." He glanced at Mingyu over his shoulder. "It's his first sleepover ever. When I dropped them off I wanted to take pictures, but they wouldn’t let me.” He sighed. “They're both so grown up now." 

"Sap," Minghao teased, and Seokmin laughed, and when he did, Mingyu could see him squeeze Minghao's shoulder, his thumb rubbing over his neck. _They're definitely together,_ Mingyu thought. _Or they’re at least more than just friends._

Minghao turned to look at Mingyu too. "You probably have questions about us."

"About what?" Mingyu asked.

"You know," said Minghao, gesturing but not really gesturing to anything. "About how we have kids. Where their mothers are."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah." Seokmin was grinning, in a bit of a patronizing way. "That."

"I assumed that Taesun and Junseo didn't have mothers, but it's not my place to ask."

"Aw," said Seokmin to Minghao, "he's cute _and_ a gentleman."

"Emphasis on the cute part," said Minghao.

Mingyu was probably blushing again, but he felt a need to defend himself. It wasn't fair that it was a two-on-one fight. "I'm not _cute._ "

"Oh, you're _so_ cute," said Seokmin, eyes twinkling. "Anyway, it's okay if you want to ask questions. Tons of people ask questions or make assumptions, and I don’t even know them. It doesn't bother me anymore." 

"How did you become a parent, then?" Mingyu asked.

"I was stupid," said Seokmin. "I knocked up a girl in college and never saw her again. Two years later, she ended up in drug rehab, and child services sent me Junseo."

"My wife died shortly after Taesun was born," said Minghao. "So I had to raise him on my own."

"I'm sorry," said Mingyu, sympathetic. "It sounds like it must be really hard."

Seokmin set down three steaming bowls of stew, and Minghao got some wine. "It's alright," he said, shrugging. "At least we have our kids. That's what makes it worth it."

Mingyu nodded. He could see Seokmin’s love for Junseo through the things in the apartment too, in every nook and cranny, from the pictures on the cabinet shelf, ranging from when Junseo was little to recent pictures of him making saves on the pitch, to the mug Minghao was using for his tea, with a personalized “Happy Birthday Junseo!” painted on it. He knew if he were to see Minghao’s apartment, it would be the same way.

"So," said Minghao, "tell us about you, Mingyu. I'll have to know a little more about you if I'm going to be your new assistant coach."

Mingyu groaned. "I thought we weren't going to talk about that!"

Minghao snorted. "I think that's just a decision you made all on your own. I'm perfectly fine debating this thing all night if we need to."

"Stop it, you two," said Seokmin. "Okay, we promise we won't talk about the coaching thing for the rest of today. Now, tell us about yourself."

"There isn't that much to tell," said Mingyu honestly. "I've played football my entire life. I played in England for a while, and then I decided to come back here and coach. I like kids, so I worked at a bunch of different youth clubs and then found one that I liked."

“England?” Seokmin looked awed. “That’s so cool!”

“Nah,” said Mingyu, shaking his head. “Terrible weather. The experience is a solid 2 out of 10.”

They continued talking for what seemed like forever. Seokmin and Minghao were easy to talk to; Seokmin was cheerful and bubbly, while Minghao was more quiet and thoughtful, and they bounced off each other's ideas and stories well. It was nearly impossible to imagine that two people that bickered and fought constantly at soccer practices and games could be so good together. At some point during the conversation, a single thought rang in his head: _this is pretty good_. 

And it was terrifying. What if they didn't like him back? What if they only wanted each other? It was obvious that they did want each other, from the way their postures automatically leaned toward each other, from the way Minghao's eyes softened every time he looked at Seokmin, from the way Seokmin's smile grew just a bit bigger when Minghao was speaking. Mingyu didn't have a place in that. He didn't belong. Why would they want him the same way he wanted them? After all, all of this started over the assistant coach debate. They had only started flirting with him to try to win him over in that regard. They didn't want a relationship.

"I should go," he said when there was a brief lull in the conversation. "It's getting late."

"Wait!" Seokmin stood up, and Minghao followed. "Hold on a second."

Seokmin crossed the room to where Mingyu was still sitting. The way Seokmin was standing over him made him seem incredibly small all of a sudden. Seokmin reached over, cupped Mingyu's jaw, and leaned in.

Seokmin's lips were soft, hesitant. The kiss was chaste, not more than two or three seconds, but Mingyu felt like he was on fire.

As Seokming pulled away, Mingyu's lips were still buzzing. His eyes were wide, his body frozen to the spot. What the actual fuck was going on?

"I want a turn," said Minghao, and he didn't give him a chance to prepare himself before he kissed Mingyu, too. 

Minghao kissed differently from Seokmin: he kissed like it was his last. When Minghao pulled Mingyu's bottom lip into his mouth, teeth grazing ever so slightly, Mingyu let out a half-gasp, half-moan, and he could hear Seokmin's breath hitch.

For the first time in so long, he felt desire pool up inside him, a desperate _want_ , like a water glass ready to overflow.

Both Seokmin and Minghao were staring at him when Minghao pulled away, leaving Mingyu feeling utterly exposed, like he was cut open on a surgery table and they could see everything inside of him: his organs, his thoughts, his feelings. For a second, time stood still.

"Good night," he said, finally breaking the long silence. Seokmin blinked in surprise, opening his mouth to say something, but Mingyu avoided his gaze, standing up and getting his coat from the rack by the door. Before he closed the door, he looked back and saw Seokmin looking upset, his eyes downcast, and Minghao looking angry, but also worried as he looked over at Seokmin. Mingyu closed the door before he could convince himself to stay and talk about it.

Mingyu drove home. He tried not to think about the kiss (kisses, really), and what it meant for him, and what it meant for them, and how he could face them again on Saturday, but it was impossible.

~

"This is terrible," said Mingyu from his spot on the couch. "This was the worst-case scenario. No sex but all the feelings. Every single feeling."

"Stop being so dramatic," said Wonwoo. "They freaking kissed you. Both of them. On the mouth. And it wasn't one of those kiss-and-forget kisses. According to you."

"You're being insensitive, Wonwoo," said Soonyoung from where he was rubbing Mingyu's back. "Mingyu is currently very hurt and confused, and you're not helping."

"I'm helping!" Wonwoo exclaimed indignantly. "He's being stupid. What he has to do to _talk_ to them. Just tell them that you think they're both very nice and hot people and that you'd like to date them. Or screw them. Or whatever you're trying to do. I'm not totally sure at this point."

"How am I supposed to tell them that I want to hold their hands and bring them coffee and play soccer with their kids outside of practice and act all domestic in the morning?"

"Exactly like that, idiot," said Wonwoo. "You go up to them, and say those exact things, and if they reject you, that's just how it's going to be. If it doesn't work out, at least you can give yourself the satisfaction of giving the coaching job to someone else. Okay?"

"Okay."

"See, Soonyoung?" Wonwoo looked at Soonyoung. "I'm very helpful."

~

The annual tournament in Busan is always a source of stress and chaos for all of the parties involved. Coaches need to get forms signed by the parents, the players have to prepare with extra fitness and more emphasis on strategy, and the parents have to watch all of the chaos and try to get their children to games on time. This year was no different.

The team was staying at a tiny hotel about fifteen minutes from the field complex, so it was impossible to avoid seeing either Minghao or Seokmin. Still, Mingyu fared pretty well, since as soon as he and Minghao made eye contact, he dashed away as soon as he could. Even though Wonwoo had pushed him to reach out and talk to them, he was in no way eager to do so.

He avoided them during the entire first game, coming just late enough to warmup where there was no time wasted, but no time for chatting. Minghao and Seokmin yelled and cheered and argued like maniacs the entire game like usual, and while Mingyu couldn't help but feel like it was a bit muted, he just wrote it off as his imagination. After the game, Seokmin walked up to him, but Mingyu just muttered a "sorry, can't talk" and ran away. In the hotel, he stayed in his room the whole time, only leaving occasionally to stop some of the players from running up and down the halls.

He tried to do the same thing for the second game later that day, but he wasn't so lucky. After their second win, he cleaned up and sent the players back to their parents and tried to bolt as fast as possible, but Minghao was already at the exit when he got there. Mingyu tried to ignore him and walk past, but Minghao just followed.

"Why are you avoiding us?" Minghao asked, and even though Mingyu was purposefully avoiding eye contact, it didn't take a genius to hear the hurt in Minghao's voice.

"I'm not avoiding you," Mingyu replied.

"Bullshit," said Minghao, and damn, he sounded pretty mad. "It's not like you have to talk to us all of the time, but generally, people tend to be mildly concerned when they kiss someone and then are then avoided for an entire day." When Mingyu said nothing, he continued, "you're lucky I didn't bring Seokmin with me. He's a lot more upset than me. He gets like that." 

"Well," said Mingyu, "tell him I'm sorry he's upset."

"Tell him yourself. You can't avoid us forever."

Mingyu stopped abruptly, and Minghao almost knocked into him. "Look, Minghao, I get that this is probably an important conversation, but I can't do it right now."

"Then when?" Minghao crossed his arms. "Tomorrow? Next week? Next year?"

"I-I don't know," said Mingyu. "Just not right now in a random parking lot. This tournament is stressful enough and I don't need to be thinking about other things too."

Minghao looked unhappy, but he seemed to understand that Mingyu wasn't going to budge. "Fine. But we're doing it before the end of the tournament. Seokmin's miserable. He keeps thinking we took advantage of you. We didn't do that, right?"

Mingyu's eyes widened in surprise. "No! No, you didn't, I promise."

"Good." Minghao's facial expression was still impassive, but Mingyu could see his relief in the way his shoulders slumped forward a little. Minghao began walking back toward his own car, where Mingyu could see Taesun in the backseat. "See you later."

~

The third game was just as successful as the first two, and Mingyu's team easily qualified for the final. The whole team was alive with excitement over the past few wins, and with anticipation for the last game. That was when Mingyu finally decided to talk to Minghao and Seokmin.

"Hey, Junseo?" Mingyu asked as they were walking together across the field to meet the parents.

"Yeah, hyung?"

"I need you to do me a favor. Can you do that?"

"Sure."

Mingyu looked across the field to find Seokmin and Minghao standing together, calmer now that the game was over and there was nothing to scream at anymore. They were both looking at him and Junseo. "I need to talk to your dad and Taesun's dad in private for a little bit when we get back to the hotel. So when we get back to the hotel, I need you to go hang out with Taesun or Renjun or one of the other kids, okay?"

Junseo frowned. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, no, not at all," said Mingyu. "It doesn't have to do with you. It's just really important, so I need to have some privacy."

Junseo nodded slowly. "Okay, hyung."

Mingyu ruffled Junseo's hair. "Thanks, kid. See you at the final."

Mingyu's hands shook the whole ride back to the hotel. He wanted to call Wonwoo and ask for help, but Wonwoo was at work. He wanted to do literally anything else other than talk to Minghao and Seokmin about whatever was going on, but he had promised Minghao, and he didn't like going back on promises. There were literally no other options.

"Come in," said a voice from inside Seokmin's room when Mingyu knocked. He hesitated for a second before entering.

Seokmin was sitting on the bed, and Minghao was on the couch. Both of them looked half-apprehensive, half-angry. 

Mingyu wasn't totally sure where to start, so he started simple. "Hi."

"Hey," said Seokmin, as though he was letting out a long breath. "Long time no see."

Time to do what he came here to do. "I'm sorry I was avoiding you," said Mingyu. "It wasn't right to try to ignore the situation."

"Why were you avoiding us in the first place?" Minghao asked. 

Mingyu let out a long sigh. "You know why."

"No, we don't," said Minghao. "That's why we're asking."

"I left."

Minghao rolled his eyes. "We know that, obviously. We were there. We want to know _why._ "

"I was embarrassed, okay?" Mingyu blurted out.

Minghao looked confused. "Why would you be embarrassed?"

"What do you mean, why would I be embarrassed?" Mingyu ran a hand through his hair. "You were just flirting with me because you wanted the stupid assistant coach thing. And then I had to go and actually develop feelings for you both. And then you invited me over for dinner, and I was freaked out the whole time trying to figure out whether it was a date or a friend thing or a sex thing, and you were acting like a couple and so obviously I felt like I was intruding. And then you both _kissed_ me, of all things, and then I had no idea what was going on or what was real or what I was supposed to do, so I just left. It's humiliating. I'm humiliating."

The silence was so much worse than the silence after their first kiss, so much so that it almost felt painful, like a needle slowly going into Mingyu's chest, paralyzing him. "Please say something," he whispered.

"Mingyu," said Seokmin, and now he was standing up, crossing over to where Mingyu was still standing just inside the room and put his hands on Mingyu's shoulders. "Mingyu, look at me."

But he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. He wasn't sure what he'd see. "I can't," he said, barely audible.

"Mingyu," said Minghao, and now he was standing up too, moving to stand next to Seokmin, caging him in but leaving him just enough room to leave if he wanted. "This was never about the coach thing."

That made Mingyu look up, eyes darting from Minghao to Seokmin like a crazed animal. "What?"

"I liked you way before that," said Minghao, and now _he_ looks shy, if that could even be possible. "I saw how good you were while you were working with Taesun, and I thought you were cute, and...the debate for the coaching job was just convenient for me to make a move on you."

"W-what?"

"I liked you before, too," added Seokmin, as if Mingyu needed any more shock to his heart. "And it isn't that we don't both want the job. We do. But a lot of it was because we wanted more opportunities to be close to you."

"Why couldn't you just ask me out like a normal person?"

"We were just as scared as you were!" Seokmin exclaimed. "Our kids love and respect you. What if you hadn't wanted us? What if you had been repulsed by the idea of dating men, much less two men? You might have taken it out on the kids, or spread rumors to the others, or worse."

"I never would have done that to you."

"But we didn't _know_ that," said Minghao, "and we had to be sure." He reached over and took Seokmin's hand, where it was resting on Mingyu's shoulder. "And we never were a couple, Mingyu. We didn't realize...until after."

"But you're not intruding, Mingyu." Seokmin squeezed his shoulders. "We want you to be with us. All three of us. Together." 

Mingyu frowned. "That simple?" It couldn't be.

Seokmin smiled at him, one of those 1000-watt smiles with the 60-something teeth. "That simple." 

And then they were kissing. Mingyu wasn't totally sure who was kissing who, but all of a sudden he found himself on the couch with Seokmin and Minghao hovering over him, Minghao's tongue in his mouth and Seokmin's lips attached to his neck, and he thought, _this is pretty good_.

"This feels like a dream," Mingyu mumbled against Minghao's lips before pulling away to kiss Seokmin.

"Yeah." Minghao's breath was labored from all of the kissing, his voice pitched low, like he was growling, and he looked so handsome with his hair mussed up and his eyes hungry as he leaned in to kiss along Seokmin's jaw. Seokmin let out a satisfied sigh, burying his face in Mingyu's chest to muffle his noises as Minghao started to use his teeth. "You're so pretty. Both of you."

"Knew you'd be a flatterer, Minghao," said Seokmin through a gasp as Minghao slipped both hands under Seokmin's shirt to run his hands up his sides. "Hey, that tickles!"

"Doesn't he look pretty, Mingyu-yah?" Minghao asked him, kissing his forehead. 

Mingyu looked, and _god,_ Seokmin did look pretty with dark purple marks on his neck, and his face flushed. "I'm glad I decided to get an assistant coach," he muttered under his breath.

"Me too," said Seokmin. "Me, too."

~

"Wen Junhui?!" Seokmin tore through the tiny apartment, Minghao in tow, sticking his phone in Mingyu's face. "You picked Wen Junhui to be your assistant coach?"

"Yes?"

"I at least would be somewhat satisfied now if Minghao was the coach because then I could still get all of the scoop about the season dates and the practice times through him, but Wen Junhui? He doesn't know shit about football!"

Mingyu sighed and sat up far enough to look at his two incredibly irate boyfriends. "Neither do either of you, and you still wanted the job."

"But we're your _boyfriends,_ Mingyu," said Minghao. "We're supposed to have top priority."

Mingyu chuckled. "Since when? I told you that if you kept bothering me about it even after I asked you not to, neither of you were getting the job. And I keep my promises."

"We're breaking up with you," said Minghao, even as he climbed into the bed and curled up next to Mingyu. "You evil little man."

"Yeah," said Seokmin, dropping a kiss onto the top of Mingyu's head first, then Minghao's. 

"I'm taller than both of you," said Mingyu, grinning.

"And we don't care."

And as Mingyu lay in bed with his two boyfriends, the sounds of two growing, hungry footballers getting increasingly loud outside, he thought, _this is pretty good_.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are much appreciated.


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